A private English tutor for your child in Israel: how to choose one
A good private English tutor for a child first finds out what the child already knows, teaches in small steps, gets the child talking for most of the lesson, and tells you what happened afterward. When you choose, the connection with your child and experience with that age matter more than a degree or an accent. One lesson a week is enough for most children, as long as there is short practice at home in between.
By TutorNest · Updated 5 October 2026
What does a good private English tutor actually do?
A good tutor starts by finding out where the child is: what they already know, where they get stuck, and what worries them. The lesson begins there, not on the page the class happens to be on.
In a good lesson the child is the one speaking, reading and answering most of the time. The tutor explains briefly and then lets the child try. Mistakes are met calmly and corrected without embarrassment, because a child who is afraid of being wrong stops trying.
They can tell you in one sentence what they are working on and why.
They revisit older material at the start of each lesson instead of only moving forward.
They leave something small and clear to practice before next time.
They tell you how the lesson went, including when it did not go well.
How do I choose a tutor who fits my child?
Look first for experience with your child's age. Teaching a second grader to read is a different job from preparing a teenager for an exam. An excellent high school tutor is not automatically the right person for a seven-year-old.
Then look at the connection. Children learn a language from someone they enjoy talking to. If your child still walks into lessons tense after two or three sessions, raise it with the tutor, and if nothing changes, it is fine to switch.
For a child at the very beginning, a tutor who also speaks Hebrew helps. A quick explanation in Hebrew saves frustration, and the amount of English in the lesson grows as the child understands more.
What should I ask in the first conversation?
A teacher every week, practice every day
TutorNest joins a weekly one-to-one English lesson to about ten minutes of practice at home each day.
How will you find out what my child knows before you start?
What does a typical lesson look like, and how much of it does the child spend speaking?
What should my child do between lessons, and how long does it take?
How and when will I hear from you about progress?
What happens when a lesson has to be canceled or moved?
Short, clear answers are a good sign. A tutor who promises a result within a set number of weeks, before meeting your child, is promising something nobody can know.
Online lessons or lessons at home?
Video lesson
In-person lesson
What is easy
No travel, flexible times, a wider choice of tutors
Physical presence, easier for very young children
What it needs
A quiet spot, a reasonably sized screen and headphones
Travel time, or a tutor who lives nearby
Who it suits
Most children from about six who can sit at a screen
Children who find it hard to focus on a screen
The tutor matters more than the medium. A good lesson over video beats an average one in your living room. If you are unsure, try one or two lessons and see how your child feels afterward.
How many lessons a week does a child need?
For most children one lesson a week is enough, provided there is short practice on most days in between. A language is built from small, frequent repetition. A weekly lesson with no English at all between sessions starts almost from scratch each time.
Two lessons a week make sense when there is a large gap to close, or when a child is starting from zero at a relatively late age. Even then, daily practice is what makes the material stay.
Give practice a fixed time of day, for example right after dinner. Ten minutes at a set time lasts longer than half an hour that keeps getting postponed.
How does TutorNest handle this?
At TutorNest a child meets the same teacher once a week for a live one-to-one lesson of 45 minutes, by video or in person, at a time the family picks. Every teacher also speaks Hebrew. Between lessons the child practices for about ten minutes a day in an app built from what the teacher is working on, and you see the teacher's note after each lesson and how each skill is going. You can bring a teacher you already have, or find one there.
Questions parents ask
Does the tutor need to be a native English speaker?+
No. For children at the start, patience, clear explanations and experience teaching children matter more. A tutor who also speaks Hebrew can explain what was not understood, which reassures a beginner.
From what age does a private tutor make sense?+
From about six, when a child can sit and focus for a short lesson. Before that, songs, stories and play are a better kind of exposure.
How soon should I expect to see a change?+
The first change is usually in attitude: your child avoids English less and is more willing to try. Progress in reading and speaking builds over months and depends heavily on practice between lessons.
Should I sit next to my child during the lesson?+
In the first lessons it can help a young child feel safe. After that it is better to step away, because children speak more freely when a parent is not listening.